A year into the pandemic, and the automotive industry is still facing a raft of problems. Yet Ford has revealed that 2021 Ford F-150 inventory has been turning over at a remarkable rate. Currently, F-150s are spending an average of nine days on dealer lots. One to two weeks is the average for a car, while a month or more isn't unusual. It's not just Ford trucks that are selling strong despite the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. GM sold 839,691 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra models in 2020, and truck sales aren't relenting at the start of 2021.

Detroit News reports that GM has such heavy demand for GMC Sierra trucks its Oshawa plant in Ontario will come back online next year and that it will invest $75 million in its transmission plant in Toledo, Ohio. It seems that while GM is gearing up to ensure it has 30 EVs on the market by 2025 and its entire range is emissions-free by 2035, it still has to satisfy the demand for piston-powered trucks.

Meanwhile, Ford reported record orders for the 2021 F-150 in December and prepared itself for the huge demand by pushing out trucks from its Ford Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan and Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri. However, Ford has been hit by the global semiconductor shortage.

A shortage of semiconductors has forced Ford to halt F-150 reduce production at both plants. During the week of February 8, the Michigan plant will drop from three shifts to just one, and its Missouri plant will drop just one of its three shifts for the week. Ford believes normal production will resume on February 15.

GM is also facing the same issue, slowing the production of cars like the Chevrolet Malibu, Cadillac XT4, Chevrolet Equinox, and the Buick Encore the same week. Forecasts predict the chip shortage could last into the third quarter of this year, and close to a million fewer vehicles could be produced this year as a result.